


i'll give you this feeling ('til your heart races)

by pyrefiy



Series: pyre's loona the ficlets [7]
Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, They're Not, at least not yet, the rest of ot12 make more minor appearances, their friends think lipsoul are already dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-18 19:10:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20318050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrefiy/pseuds/pyrefiy
Summary: So Jungeun’s not that short, she swears. Still, Jinsoul’s a good few inches taller than her, which means that Jungeun’s tilting her head up, some typical half-joking statement waiting on the tip of her tongue, when suddenly there’s a pair of lips covering her own and Jungeun’s eyes go wide.In which Jinsoul kisses Jungeun a lot, and their friends might think they're already dating.





	i'll give you this feeling ('til your heart races)

The first time it happens, it’s the afternoon of Jungeun’s first day of junior year, and she’s walking home with Jinsoul, the remainder of the late summer heat deciding to toy around with their emotions as the sun’s rays beat from above.

“Definitely a late fall this year,” Jinsoul remarks, shouldering her backpack higher just so she can bump her right hip against Jungeun’s with ease.

Jungeun laughs, pointedly ignoring her heart thumping wildly in her chest from the briefest of contact, and bumps Jinsoul right back.

“You think?”

“I think so,” the older girl hums. The wind blows, and the loose strands of hair not confined to Jinsoul’s high ponytail sway gently in the warm breeze. Instinctively, Jungeun reaches up to brush them away, and the moment Jungeun’s eyes turn away, she meets Jinsoul’s thankful grin. “That way, there’s more time for soccer before winter hits.”

They turn the corner together, and Jungeun always hates this part, because Jinsoul’s house can be seen in the distance, which means that Jinsoul’s going to leave her because it’s not summer anymore, and now that Jinsoul’s a senior, Jinsoul has things like _ college admissions _ and _ student loans _to worry about.

Meanwhile, Jungeun’s left to walk home by herself.

She supposes that it’s good practice for next year, when Jinsoul’s graduated and Jungeun’s actually alone, but she’s trying not to think about that for now.

Instead, Jungeun listens aptly as Jinsoul rattles on about her first day of senior year, how she’s already feeling nostalgic about this being her last one, and how she already has plans to buy every single teacher she’s ever had a thank-you gift by the end of the year.

Wow, so much for trying not to think about it.

Jungeun tries not to let the smile slip from her face as Jinsoul continues to speak, as Jinsoul’s house draws nearer and nearer, and Jungeun’s trying, she really is, but it’s really hard to multitask when you’re a toe away from sinking back into that wallowing pit of self-pity.

“I’m going to walk home with you every day,” Jinsoul declares, and Jungeun nearly trips over her own feet.

“W-what?” Jungeun manages to muster out, somewhere between gaping and blinking and absolutely losing her train of thought and stumbling blindly into it.

Jinsoul beams, coming to a stop in front of her walkway.

“Every single day!”

Jungeun looks at her in disbelief, her eyes flashing to Jinsoul’s house before flickering back to Jinsoul incredulously.

“Why on earth would you want to do that?” Not that Jungeun’s really complaining, but _ why? _ There are definitely better people to spend time with.

“Because it’s my last year of high school, silly,” Jinsoul chides. She reaches forward, taps Jungeun on the nose and maybe Jungeun feels a bit like a deer in headlights but she tries to shrug it off because Jinsoul’s still giggling and talking and Jungeun _ needs _ to latch onto every word while she still can. “Because I want to spend time with you. Isn’t that enough?”

Jungeun’s dumbstruck look must be enough of an answer for Jinsoul – which is good because Jungeun’s vocabulary has just gone _ poof! 404 error _– so the older girl grins before taking a step closer.

“Hey Jungeun?”

“Yeah?” Oh, wonderful. Here comes the height jokes.

“If I said I wanted to kiss you right now, would you let me?”

Wait— what the actual fuck. That’s the weirdest height joke Jungeun’s ever heard.

“Wha—” Suddenly, the ground is _ very _ interesting.

“Would you let me?” Jinsoul repeats.

What kind of question is _ that?! _ Where did this come from?!

“I-I—” Jungeun stammers. She forces her ridiculously hammering heart to settle down as she tries to jumpstart her brain again.

“Yeah,” she finally says quietly. Well, that was a scarily small amount of contemplation.

“You would?” Jinsoul’s tone is terrifyingly impossible to read.

“Mmhm.” What an eloquent answer. Jungeun mentally slams her head against a brick wall. So much for jumpstarting that brain.

So Jungeun’s not _ that _ short, she swears. Still, Jinsoul’s a good few inches taller than her, which means that Jungeun’s still tilting her head up, some typical half-joking statement waiting on the tip of her tongue, when suddenly there’s a pair of lips covering her own and Jungeun’s eyes go wide.

The kiss is short, maybe only half a second long, but the feeling lingers long enough for Jungeun to register that she did just, in fact, get kissed by Jung Jinsoul. That doesn’t mean Jungeun actually knows what’s going on, though, even as Jinsoul pulls away, hopping back a step and utterly beaming.

“I’ve got homework already because my teachers suck,” Jinsoul pouts. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right, Jungeun?”

Jungeun blinks. Then she chuckles good-naturedly, easily slipping back into their usual dynamic.

_ Well, that was nice, _ she figures, tries not to make a big deal about it. Jinsoul certainly isn’t making the kiss into a big deal— it only lasted a second, after all.

Probably means nothing special.

“Of course,” she says easily, smiling. “We have AP Chemistry together first period, remember?”

“Yes!” Jinsoul says enthusiastically. “Save me a seat? The team’s doing a morning run, and I’m kinda their captain, so—”

“I’ll save you a seat, Jinsoul, no worries,” Jungeun laughs, waving as she turns on her heel to head down her street, her chest feeling surprisingly light as Jinsoul yells a _ seeya later! _ from behind her.

\--

It doesn't happen again until later in the week, when they're at the school pep rally, and there are students galore around them— it's the exact place Jungeun couldn't have been more caught off guard.

She's in the bleachers with the rest of her year, her best friend Jiwoo right next to her. Across the gymnasium, she can spy Jinsoul in the front row of her class, cheering during the events with Sooyoung, Jinsoul's best friend, Jungeun's swim team captain, and Jiwoo's girlfriend.

"Sooyoung's playing in the senior class versus teachers volleyball game," Jiwoo comments at some point, obviously excited. "Since she's track captain."

Jungeun can hardly hear her over all the yelling (and booing of the freshmen).

"Jinsoul's probably doing it too, then," she figures. Sports team captains are basically shoe-ins.

"Do you think Haseul's joining?"

There's a pause as they both go silent at Jiwoo's question, their thoughts trickling over to their student council president of a friend.

"Nah," Jungeun says at the same time Jiwoo scrunches her nose and answers herself with a, "Yeah, _ no." _

At some point, somewhere between snickering at the freshmen's unenthusiastic cheer after losing the relay race and laughing as the teachers start bickering over whose representative class is best, Jinsoul meets Jungeun's eyes and grins.

Jinsoul unpockets her phone, motioning to it before running her thumb over the screen.

A second later, Jungeun's phone vibrates.

** Jinsoul: ** get ready ;)

** Jungeun: ** ?

** Jungeun: ** for what?

** Jinsoul: ** for what's gonna happen after I win, obv

** Jungeun: ** soul, now I'm scared

** Jinsoul: ** don't worry about it ;)

Jungeun worries about it.

She worries about it all the way up to the volleyball game, because then she's worried about something else— now Jungeun's just worried that Jinsoul won't get through this game without a concussion.

Still, that doesn't stop her from cheering at the top of her lungs when Jinsoul spikes the ball down and gains the first point of the game for her team. Jiwoo squeals happily beside her as they watch Sooyoung and Jinsoul share a high five on the court, and from the mic at the corner of the gym, Haseul announces _ 1 to 0, senior class' point _ above the enthusiastic shouts of the student body.

"See?" Jiwoo teases. "Told you there's be nothing to worry about."

"We're only ten minutes in," Jungeun says. “Jinsoul’s a _ soccer player, _ Jiwoo. She uses her feet, not her hands. This is like, the farthest removed she could be.”

"You worry too much," Jiwoo grins. She says it like there's something hidden there.

Jungeun easily decides that she’d rather expend her energy needlessly worrying over Jinsoul for the remainder of the hour instead of attempting to dig up whatever buried meaning Jiwoo’s hinting at.

She does a damn good job of worrying too (she only relaxes slightly every time Jinsoul scores a point, which is often enough that it keeps Jungeun from having a heart attack), but then suddenly the volleyball game’s over, and Haseul’s announcing that the senior class’ team won, and for a brief moment, Jungeun’s merely standing there, confused.

Because wasn’t she supposed to be anticipating something…? She swears she’s forgotten something.

But then suddenly, Jinsoul’s right in front of her, having crossed the gym amidst the cheers and laughter, and there’s this great big, beaming smile on Jinsoul’s face as she tugs Jungeun off the bleachers.

_ God, _ Jungeun’s practically _ mesmerised. _

Jinsoul kisses her right then and there, and Jungeun short-circuits for a hot second—

—because that’s really all that the kiss lasts.

Just like last time – the first time – Jinsoul’s lips are only against Jungeun’s for a heartbeat, nothing more, and nothing less. And also just like last time, Jinsoul doesn’t seem to be making a big deal out of anything when she pulls away, grinning wildly at her like it had been _ Jungeun _ who had just won her the game.

“I won,” Jinsoul says cheekily.

“I saw,” Jungeun replies breathlessly.

Jinsoul wraps her arms around Jungeun’s waist in a loose hug— _ that _isn’t anything unusual, Jinsoul loves draping herself over Jungeun’s smaller frame. 

Around them, the noise persists, excited voices and the cheering of upperclassmen and the confused tones of underclassmen. And as far as Jungeun can tell, no one seems to find Jinsoul’s whole act to be anything out of the ordinary, so Jungeun mentally shrugs it off and lets herself relax into Jinsoul’s embrace.

It’s as if Jinsoul seems to notice it too, though, if the look of delight on Jinsoul’s face is anything to go by.

That’s how the second time turns into the third time— short, sweet, and casual. Nothing out of the ordinary.

This time, when Jinsoul pulls away, there are grins on both of their faces.

\--

It happens in the cafeteria one day, too, and by this point, Jungeun’s just given up on counting.

She’s grown to expect Jinsoul and Jinsoul’s pecks on the lips during their walks home every day, which does _ not _ mean that their effect on her has dwindled in any way— she’s very much still sent into a minor heart attack every single time it happens, and she doubts that will ever change.

Still, Jungeun finds it baffling how Jinsoul’s continued to find ways to catch her off guard.

It all stems from an act as simple as Jungeun snagging the last cherry jello cup in the cafeteria line, because she had seen that lone cup left on the tray and already predicted what was about to transpire.

“You don’t eat jello, Jungeun,” Heejin, her sophomore friend, says in confusion as Jungeun sits down at their usual table, and right as Jungeun opens her mouth to reply, Jinsoul plops down onto the chair next to her.

Sure enough, the older girl has a pout on her lips, and Jungeun smirks to herself as Jinsoul crosses her arms and sulks into her seat.

Jungeun pokes Jinsoul’s arm.

“What’s wrong, Soul?”

She already knows what’s wrong.

If even possible, Jinsoul’s pout deepens.

“No more cherry jello cups,” she grumbles.

Jungeun chuckles, easily depositing her jello cup onto Jinsoul’s tray. She pats the other girl on the shoulder.

“Good thing I grabbed the last one for you.”

“Oh!” Jinsoul immediately brightens, straightening up in her seat. Jungeun hands her the extra plastic spoon she’d taken from the utensils holder earlier, and Jinsoul’s doe eyes fixate on her like Jungeun had just handed her the world on a silver platter.

“Jungeun, you’re the best!”

Jungeun flushes, dipping her head in embarrassment.

“Of course it was for Jinsoul,” Hyunjin, Heejin’s girlfriend, laughs to herself from where she’s sitting next to Heejin on the other side of the table.

“No surprise there,” Heejin agrees playfully.

Jungeun ducks her head lower, trying to hide her reddening face. Surely, she’s not that hard to see through, although Heejin and Hyunjin’s comments make her question even herself. Thankfully, if Jinsoul suspects anything, she doesn’t mention it.

From there, the conversation is diverted as more of their friends start sitting down at the table. Heejin and Hyunjin enthusiastically greet Chaewon as the younger blonde takes a seat with Hyejoo, a freshman also on the soccer team with Jinsoul. Everyone says hi to Haseul and Vivi, who sit further down the long table, and before long, Sooyoung, Jiwoo, Yerim, and Yeojin are in their usual spots as well.

There’s noise all over the cafeteria, and everyone has slipped into their own side-conversations by the time Jinsoul pokes Jungeun’s arm, much like what Jungeun had done to her earlier.

Jungeun allows herself to be pulled out of her conversation on extra-curriculars with Chaewon and Sooyoung to meet Jinsoul’s bright eyes, the plastic spoon she’d handed the older blonde earlier still dangling out of Jinsoul’s mouth.

Jinsoul pulls the spoon out, grinning as she pushes the empty jello cup to the corner of her lunch tray.

She brings their faces closer, and Jungeun hears her heart beating heavily in her ears.

“Thank you,” Jinsoul says softly. She leans in, presses a swift kiss against Jungeun’s lips, somehow manages to make Jungeun’s heart soar in that brief moment, leaves Jungeun feeling as light as a feather by the time she pulls away.

Jungeun swears she can taste the lingering flavor of cherry when she licks her lips afterward.

“It was no problem,” she mumbles shyly.

Jinsoul smiles brightly and bumps their shoulders before Haseul calls their names as asks them what their opinions on the school’s newspaper committee are.

Jinsoul dives headfirst back into the conversation, but Jungeun allows herself to space out a little, her gaze merely flickering around the table. While some of her friends catch her curious glance and shoot her a smile – Jiwoo outright _ beams _ – otherwise, Jungeun finds no strange looks.

She lets an imaginary shrug roll off her shoulder, just like she had the other times, before turning to Haseul to talk about how the new kids running the school newspaper were _ way _ too interested in plastering their school’s social media page with outdated memes.

\--

It continues happening like this, Jinsoul kissing Jungeun on occasion after occasion. It becomes the norm, after a month or so, and as the weather finally turns cooler as they delve deeper into autumn, Jungeun finds herself relishing in the warm, glowing feeling that sits in the bottom of her stomach every time Jinsoul’s lips meet her own.

She knows that they don’t mean much, but the kisses are nice gestures nonetheless.

Having cemented herself as Jinsoul’s Number One Cheerleader, Jungeun is there in the stands alongside her friends for Jinsoul’s last soccer game of the season.

It’s no surprise when Jinsoul scores the game-winning goal (off an excellent assist from Hyejoo) right before the buzzer rings and the bleachers explode into whoops of joy, Jungeun’s voice included.

Jungeun watches with a wide smile as Jinsoul is swarmed by her teammates and classmates alike. Next to her, Sooyoung surges forward from the stands to join in the dogpile, the rest of their friends soon following.

Jungeun watches fondly from afar, remaining on the bleachers.

Beneath the massive group hug, Jinsoul’s head pops up from the crowd, and Jungeun laughs as Jinsoul raises a hand to vigorously wave at her. She lifts her own hand, waving back.

“Why are you still up here?” A voice asks frankly, and Jungeun nearly jumps out of her skin at the sudden interruption. She whips her head around to find Vivi, the older girl watching Jungeun, her head tilted in innocent confusion. “I would’ve thought you’d be the first person down there.”

“Ah,” Jungeun chuckles sheepishly, glancing over her shoulder before tearing her gaze away from the other celebrating students. “I mean, it’s Jinsoul’s and the soccer team’s win, after all—”

“But Haseul and Sooyoung and the others are celebrating with them right now too.”

“W-well,” Jungeun stammers. “Why aren’t _ you _ celebrating, then?”

“I will be,” Vivi smiles like she’s just won something, crosses her arms. “I was just wondering why you weren’t the first person moving when you’re clearly the closest to Jinsoul out of all twelve of our crew.”

Jungeun frowns. She’s not the closest to Jinsoul, that title should go to Sooyoung or Haseul or even Vivi herself.

“I’m not the closest to Jinsoul. Aren’t you closer to her than I am…? Or even Sooyoung, or Haseul—”

“No offense, Jungeun,” Vivi giggles, “But you’re _ incredibly _ dense.”

“Wha—” Jungeun sputters, feeling lowkey (read: highkey) like the rug has been pulled out from under her, and she’s struggling to stand up on a freshly waxed floor in just her socks. “What are you—”

“Jungeun!” Jinsoul’s voice cuts through Jungeun’s flailing thought process, and she whirls around to find Jinsoul standing at the bottom of the bleachers, beaming her signature dorky smile up at Jungeun. “I was looking for you!”

“I-I—” God, Jungeun’s lost for words.

“Sorry, Jinsoul,” Vivi calls, already making her way down the bleachers, leaving Jungeun to scurry after her. “I was asking Jungeun about our AP Chem homework now since I doubt I’ll be able to get ahold of her later.”

Vivi winks, not subtle in the slightest, and Jungeun kind of wants to sink into the ground in embarrassment.

“No trouble at all,” Jinsoul laughs with a wink of her own, and yeah, Jungeun would really love for the ground to swallow her whole, even as Vivi turns and waves, heading off to find Haseul.

But then Jinsoul’s squeezing her hand, and it occurs to Jungeun that they’ve miraculously been left alone, the rest of the crowd having moved to the center of the field, away from the bleacher area that she and Jinsoul stand in front of.

“You were great today,” Jungeun says, a prominent note of pride in her voice, all previous humiliation somehow washing away the moment her eyes meet Jinsoul’s.

“You saw me score, right?” Jinsoul prods.

Jungeun nods, humming. 

Jinsoul’s arms encircle her waist, and Jungeun’s head comes to rest at Jinsoul’s shoulder.

“That last goal was for you,” Jinsoul says, no sign of joking in her tone. It has Jungeun drawing back slightly to look Jinsoul in the eye, surprised. It’s not usual for Jinsoul to be so serious, for Jinsoul to drop her rather laid-back persona.

Jungeun nods again, slower this time. She slips her hands into Jinsoul’s, squeezing them tight, rubbing circles onto the back of Jinsoul’s palms. She’s quiet for a moment, thinking to herself. She’s never been good with words— it’s something she’s still working on, something she knows that Jinsoul understands too.

“That makes me happy,” she finally settles on, a small, shy smile blossoming across her lips. “That makes me really, really happy.”

Jungeun’s not good with words, and she’s not sure if she ever truly will be, but if the way Jinsoul beams brighter than the autumn sun means anything, if the way Jinsoul leans in and presses a swift kiss against Jungeun’s lips, somehow sweeter than all those other times (maybe it’s just her imagination), means anything at all—

Maybe Jungeun’s doing something right after all.

\--

Or maybe she’s not right. Like, at all.

Not even a week after the soccer game, Jungeun somehow finds herself third-wheeling Jiwoo and Sooyoung at the mall.

She swears she hadn’t meant for it to happen— somewhere else in the mall, Heejin, Yerim, Chaewon, and Jinsoul are rummaging through Primark and H&M for clothes. It’s just that Jungeun had been more interested in getting food this time around (Jinsoul had pecked her lips gleefully when Jungeun had said she’d share her pretzel, and Jinsoul had replied that she’d get Jungeun a new scarf for the approaching colder weather). It also just so happened that their crew’s resident lovebirds, Jiwoo and Sooyoung, shared Jungeun’s interest for food.

They’re walking away from the Auntie Annie’s Pretzels shop, Jungeun watching Jiwoo feed Sooyoung a bite of her pretzel, when the question accidentally tumbles from Jungeun’s mouth before she can stop herself.

Before she can really consider the consequences of blurting out this question to her two close friends who quite literally couldn’t be more in love.

“What’s it like to have a girlfriend?” Jungeun asks innocently, and suddenly it’s like time has come to a complete, screeching halt.

Jiwoo and Sooyoung outright _ freeze, _ gaping at Jungeun.

“W-what?” Sooyoung stutters.

Jungeun frowns. It’s not like Sooyoung to stutter, especially in what seems to be an un-ironic fashion. And when the couple in front of her share a look of utter confusion, Jungeun can't help but feel like she's been left out of something big.

"Why are you looking at me like that…?" She asks warily.

Another look passes between the couple, like they can’t believe what they’re hearing.

"Jungeun," Jiwoo says slowly, setting her pretzel and soft drink down on a nearby table. "If you've never had a girlfriend before, what's _ Jinsoul?" _

Jungeun swears her heart stutters in her chest at the question, at the mere implication of being something more with Jinsoul. God, she wishes that Jinsoul were her girlfriend.

But the thing is, Jinsoul's _ not, _ and for some reason, Jiwoo and Sooyoung thought she _ was, _ so the entire insinuation that Jinsoul could even possibly be Jungeun's girlfriend makes her furrow her eyebrows in befuddlement.

"Jinsoul's my _ friend," _ Jungeun says, equally as slow. She doesn't know why she says it like that, since she's not sure whether she's spelling it out for her friends or herself, but it's an odd-tasting reminder that doesn't sit well on her tongue— Jinsoul's only a friend, and Jungeun doesn't really like that.

"She's just a friend?" Sooyoung repeats, the disbelief still very present.

"Mmhm," Jungeun nods. Her grip on her pretzel tightens.

"But you guys kiss!" Jiwoo exclaims, not believing her in the slightest. "Like, all the time! On the _ lips!" _

"Jinsoul kisses me," Jungeun repeats, affirms because _ yeah, _ Jinsoul kisses her! It’s kind of obvious when the older girl doesn’t even go out of her way to hide it, when Jinsoul’s been so open about kissing her in public all the time.

And it’s not like Jungeun ever denies her, either.

“She kisses me a lot,” she admits. “But doesn’t she kiss everyone…?”

Admittedly, Jungeun’s never _ seen _ Jinsoul kiss anyone else on the lips either, but who knows?

“No?” Sooyoung almost sounds offended that Jungeun would even _ insinuate _ the concept. “Not the same way she kisses you, at least. Not on the lips. Whenever Jinsoul kisses the rest of us, it’s always, like, jokingly. Like, on the cheek or something.”

“There’s a difference…?” Jungeun’s head feels like it’s spinning off its axis.

“God, Jungie! I knew you were clueless about relationships, but not _ this _ clueless!” Jiwoo exclaims exasperatedly. She crosses her arms, and for the first time, Jungeun feels the urge to make herself as small as possible beneath her best friend’s incredulous look. “Here, look.”

Without any more prompting, Jiwoo stands up on her tiptoes, placing an easy, brief kiss on Sooyoung’s lips, to which the older girl hums and leans into. The entire act is over in a heartbeat, and it hardly gives Jungeun enough time to grasp just what the fuck is going on before Jiwoo’s back to looking at Jungeun expectedly.

“See?” Jiwoo gestures between herself and Sooyoung. “We’re girlfriends, and we love each other, and so we kiss on the lips casually. I think everyone knows that kisses on the lips, pecks and stuff, are for people who are in love.”

Jungeun’s eyes nearly bug out.

_ “In love?” _ She chokes. That’s ridiculous. Okay, sure, it makes sense that Jiwoo and Sooyoung kiss – they’re _ girlfriends _ – and yeah, maybe she’s in love with Jinsoul, but it’s Jinsoul who’s been the one initiating every kiss. It’s Jinsoul who pulls her in every time, who leans in first every time, and by Jiwoo’s logic of thinking, that would mean—

“Jinsoul’s in love with you, Jungeun,” Sooyoung says plainly, and Jungeun promptly bends over and breaks out into a fit of coughs.

“Sooyoung!” Jiwoo yelps, and from the corner of her eye, Jungeun spies Jiwoo smacking her girlfriend’s shoulder. “You could’ve killed her!”

“I thought she knew already!” Sooyoung says defensively. “I thought they were already _ dating, _ for Christ’s sake! And it’s not like you _ didn’t _ know, Jiwoo. Everyone knows but Jungeun! God, I knew that the two of you were both oblivious fucks, but I didn’t know it was _ this bad. _ I mean, just about _ everyone _ knows that Jungeun’s been in love with Jinsoul since the sixth grade, so—”

Sooyoung shrugs.

“You’re—” Jiwoo wrinkles her nose. “You’re not wrong.”

_ “What?” _ Jungeun gasps. That’s it. She’s lost her grasp on reality. “Everyone knows _ what?” _

Her two friends both wince – is that a thing couples do? Wince at the same time? – and shoot each other yet another pair of identical looks.

“I think you should talk with Jinsoul,” Sooyoung says.

“Agreed,” Jiwoo nods.

Jungeun tips her head back and groans, the pretzel in her hand nearly slipping from her grip.

Her friends are going to be the death of her— that is, granted that Jung Jinsoul doesn’t give her a heart attack first.

\--

They ask Sooyoung to drop them off at the school after the mall, and then Jinsoul and Jungeun head off to walk home together.

(If Jungeun had thought Vivi’s wink from the soccer game was unsubtle, Jiwoo’s wink as Jungeun and Jinsoul leave Sooyoung’s car might as well be the equivalent of a blinking neon sign pointing straight at Jungeun in the middle of the night).

“How do you like the scarf, Jungeun?” Jinsoul asks as they walk, her hands casually in her pockets of her navy blue hoodie.

“It’s really warm,” Jungeun mumbles into the dark red fabric, nuzzling into soft, woolen scarf as the wind blows by, stirring up a bluster of leaves in a rush of orange and reds and yellows around them.

“It really is getting colder, huh?” Jinsoul comments, as they near her house. She puffs up a cheek.

Jungeun’s smile is hidden behind her new red scarf, and she reaches over to poke Jinsoul’s cheek playfully.

“You’ll be inside soon enough,” she says, nodding as they come to a halt in front of Jinsoul’s walkway.

“I suppose so,” Jinsoul hums, bobbing her head.

Just like usual, their eyes meet, and Jungeun involuntarily leans towards the older girl. Jinsoul must notice, because she smiles gently, bringing her face ever-so-much closer.

Their lips are only centimeters apart when Jungeun suddenly remembers her conversation with Sooyoung and Jiwoo from earlier, and it sends her reeling backward, shocked more at her own reaction than anything.

“Jungeun?” Jinsoul squeaks, surprised. There’s a poignant note of insecurity there, no doubt an instinctual reaction. Jinsoul seems to shrink in on herself as she takes into account Jungeun’s open-mouthed, gaping expression. “Look, Jungeun, I’m sorry. If you want me to stop, I’ll—”

“No!” Jungeun immediately yelps, and Jinsoul’s eyes go wide. Jungeun tugs down her scarf so that it no longer covers her face. “No, no, that’s not what I— that’s not what I was trying to get at! I-I like your kisses, Jinsoul, I was the one who said that you could, after all, and I don’t want you to stop, I just—”

She lapses into silence, trying to figure out where she’s going with this. Jinsoul’s eyes soften into something patient and understanding.

Then—

“You kiss me all the time,” Jungeun finally blurts out. “Like, _ all _ the time.”

Jinsoul pauses for a moment, surprised at how frank Jungeun’s being, but then suddenly there's a smile blooming across her face, and she laughs, throwing back her head and smiling at the younger girl.

"I do," Jinsoul says, blatant amusement laced in her voice as her smile turns smug.

Meanwhile, Jungeun's brain is racing at speeds she can hardly comprehend. Overdrive, it is.

"You kiss me _ all _ the time, like, on the _ lips, _ for literally _ anything," _ Jungeun clarifies, as if still trying to wrap her head around the idea that _ it actually means something _, after days and weeks and months of trying to convince herself that it doesn't mean anything, "And— and I never knew what to think because you're one of my best friends but you're also this really cool upperclassman so I thought they were – I dunno – friendly kisses or something—"

"_ 'Friendly _ kisses'," Jinsoul echoes, her laughter hardly able to be contained as it bubbles from her chest. She crosses her arms, an eyebrow raised, because surely, this is the most entertained she's been in _ a while, _ and Jungeun can’t really blame her, she probably sounds ridiculous.

"—But then I was talking to Jiwoo and Sooyoung earlier and they said that you're in love with me?" Jungeun's voice takes on a higher-pitched tone of confusion and disbelief that might be borderline near hysteria. Jinsoul merely giggles knowingly as Jungeun continues to ramble like a train without breaks. "They said that kisses on the lips are for people who love each other, like, pecks and stuff, and they said that you're in love with me – that you _ love me? – _ and that we act like we're dating. Sooyoung said you basically think we're dating?"

Jungeun shakes her head, words just pouring from her mouth as her eyes go wide. Jinsoul looks way too calm for this, way too collected for this conversation, but her slight smirk is just _ way _ too attractive and—

"I-I— um, _ are _ we dating?" Jungeun stutters, and Jinsoul gives her this endearing look, like Jungeun's some precious creature she wants to protect. It makes Jungeun blush a deep red, and she ducks her head down, continues to mumble. "Because I-I really need to know? Because I've kinda sorta maybe been in love with you since 6th grade, and um, I've been told that I'm a bit dense? Okay, _ a lot _ dense, like, Vivi told me that after your last soccer game, but anyway— a-are we dating? Do… Do you actually love me, Jinsoul…?"

A heartbeat of silence, and under Jinsoul’s contemplative gaze, Jungeun's just about ready to turn tail and run when—

Jinsoul laughs softly, and then she's running a hand through Jungeun's long, blonde hair, eventually making her way to cup Jungeun's cheek with the utmost care.

The light in Jinsoul's eyes has yet to fade, her smile has yet to disappear, and Jungeun's just _ stunned _ because there's no actual way that Jinsoul actually likes her in that way— right?

"And here I was, thinking that I might have to lock you in a closet with me to get you to do anything," Jinsoul says playfully. Jungeun gasps as the air leaves her lungs in the best way possible, just as Jinsoul throws a wink in her direction. "Congrats on finally figuring it out!"

Okay, Jungeun was deadass outright wrong.

"You _ like me," _ Jungeun breathes.

"If I could replay your own words from a recording, I would," Jinsoul chuckles. She gently pulls Jungeun closer by the waist, pressing their foreheads together with a soft smile. "I don't just like you, silly. You said it yourself— I _ love _you, Jungeun."

Jinsoul dips in, presses a swift kiss to Jungeun's nose.

“I’m just,” Jinsoul shrugs as she pulls back slightly, a sheepish smile playing on her lips. “I’m not the best with words either, so I asked if I could kiss you back then because I figured it would be easier for the both of us.” She chuckles. “That was my bad, for not being more straightforward.”

Meanwhile, Jungeun just feels lightheaded.

"You love me," she whispers, clutching at the hem of Jinsoul's navy hoodie, trying to anchor herself down to _ something, _because Jungeun's pretty sure she just left Earth's atmosphere and ascended to the heavens. "I love you, you love me— are we, like, girlfriends…?"

"That sounds perfect," Jinsoul grins. "Yes, Jungeun, we're girlfriends. I think… I think we've basically been girlfriends for a while. Isn't it perfect?"

"Almost _ too _ perfect," Jungeun inhales. She blinks, looking at Jinsoul desperately. "This is real, right, Soul?"

"Of course it's real. Here, let me make it a bit clearer..." Jinsoul smiles. She leans in, pushing Jungeun’s new red scarf out of the way, gently guiding Jungeun's mouth to hers, and the younger girl instinctively closes her eyes as their lips meet in a chaste kiss, even sweeter and more meaningful than the swift kisses and short pecks that Jinsoul's been giving her for three months now. 

Jungeun's fingers thread through Jinsoul's hair, and Jinsoul's left hand moves from Jungeun's waist to the small of her back, and they're kissing on Jinsoul's front porch in broad daylight and there's a good chance someone will come by and see – just _ watch _ as it's Sooyoung and Jiwoo driving by to tease – but Jungeun _ really _ can't bring herself to care right now— she's kissing fucking _ Jung Jinsoul. _

Jung Jinsoul is Kim Jungeun's fucking_ girlfriend. _

And no amount of interruptions, or even Jungeun's own dense mind, can mess this up.

Jinsoul pulls back, her smirk returning.

"That clear enough for you?"

Jungeun shrugs, confidence building in the pit of her stomach. Her lips take on a smirk of her own.

"Dunno. I might need a bit more convincing."

Everything's going to be alright.

Jinsoul laughs, and then she's standing up, tugging Jungeun to follow her into her house. She winks.

"Well, I can do _ much _ more convincing inside."

End.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! it means a lot to me!
> 
> come find me on twitter if you want to chat or something lol i'm @pyrefiy


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